Jaguar Land Rover Opens Electromagnetic Compatibility Lab for Advanced Vehicle Testing

Introduction to Connected Car Technology

Most of us are well-versed with cars that are equipped with connected car technology. For those that are not in the know, connected car tech allows users to pair their smartphones with their cars (mostly via an app), whilst also monitoring their vehicle’s location amongst other useful features remotely. At the same time, electrification of vehicles is one of the other predominant strategies that automakers are focusing on.

Jaguar Land Rover's New Facility

Jaguar and Land Rover have now become part of this club by opening a brand-new facility. This facility, known as the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) lab, is situated at Gaydon in the United Kingdom. The lab will be at the forefront of designing and testing advanced electrified and connected vehicles from Jaguar and Land Rover. According to the group, the facility will be working on electrical and radio interference for their upcoming next-generation vehicles.

Current Testing Programs

However, for the time being, this is a bespoke testing program by the Jaguar and Land Rover group. One of the leading examples of this comes in the form of the new Range Rover Sport, which was launched in May this year. It features the latest in the field of connected car technology, which will eventually be seen in future models from the JLR group. Among the chief concerns for the marque when it comes to its new project is electromagnetic interference.

Functionality of the EMC Lab

This is why Jaguar and Land Rover set up the Electromagnetic Compatibility lab. One of the main tasks of the EMC facility is to test a variety of electrical equipment and systems that go into electrified and connected vehicles, determining how well each performs in their respective electromagnetic environment. In essence, EMC will work by limiting the unintentional generation, propagation, and reception of electromagnetic energy to mitigate or reduce the overall risk of electromagnetic interference between the various components of these vehicles.

Jaguar and Land Rover’s new facility in the UK will conduct its EMC tests with the help of two specially-developed anechoic chambers:

• One chamber will be utilized to run tests on various vehicular components and features such as batteries, electric motors, Bluetooth, GPS, WiFi, 4G, and 5G technologies.
• The other chamber will be home to what the brand’s engineers refer to as an “electrically quiet rolling road.” This facility will allow engineers to test a vehicle at a predetermined speed while monitoring various parts and components on multiple performance matrices.

Comments from Jaguar Land Rover

Commenting about the project at the time was Peter Phillips, Senior Manager, Electromagnetics and Compliance at Jaguar and Land Rover. Phillips stated, “The importance of testing our vehicles for electromagnetic compatibility cannot be underestimated. Opening this new testing facility is an important step forward for the business and it will play a crucial role in helping us deliver quality, legal, and customer satisfaction.”

Future Trends in Automotive Technology

As the automotive world moves fast into securing its future by researching, designing, and implementing multiple ideas and technologies, the rate at which progress will be made is only set to rise. The key areas to keep an eye on in the near future include:

• More efficient electric powertrains
• A plethora of advanced digital & cloud-based services for vehicles
• Increased reliability and advancement in autonomous technologies
• Rapid inclusion of up-to-date software updates via OTA methods in future cars

JLR’s new facility will also focus on other crucial factors behind these vehicles such as quality, legal compliance, and customer satisfaction. All of this will eventually come to a head as part of JLR’s ‘Reimagine strategy.’